The participation of the Chinese army in the Russian military exercises "Vostok" and the memory of the defeat of Japan, linking Chinese and Russian troopsChina will take part in the Russian military exercises "Vostok-2022", reports JB Press.
More Chinese troops will be involved this year. Japan has at least three reasons for concern, the article notes.
Daisuke KindoThe Ministry of Defense of China regularly holds a press conference - in the last week of the month at 15:00 for about an hour.
Chinese and foreign journalists are gathered by a press secretary. Now this position is held by Senior Colonel Tan Kefei.
On August 25, at a regular press conference, Kefei answered a total of ten questions from journalists. Of particular interest to Japan was the fourth question.
Chinese Air Force, Navy and ground forces will take part in the "East"
Journalist: According to press reports, Chinese troops will soon go to Russia to participate in the military exercises "Vostok-2022". What is the status of China's training, as well as the purpose and significance of participating in these exercises?Tan Kefei: In accordance with the Sino-Russian annual cooperation plan, the People's Liberation Army of China will soon allocate part of its forces to be sent to Russia to participate in the Vostok-2022 exercises.
Countries such as India, Belarus, Tajikistan and Mongolia will also send their troops.
The units of the land forces and the Chinese Air Force have already arrived in the designated areas. They will continue to deploy forces, complete the creation of field brigades, survey and monitor the area, and begin appropriate flight training.
Naval brigades will meet with the Russian fleet at sea, and then work out exercises in communications and other disciplines.
The main goal of Chinese servicemen in Russia is to deepen practical cooperation between the armed forces of the participating countries. This will increase the level of strategic cooperation between the participants of the exercises and strengthen their ability to jointly respond to a number of security threats.
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Thus, the Ministry of Defense of China has officially announced its participation in the "East-2022".
– The goal is for Chinese troops to cover the Far East, whose defense has weakened due to the special operation in Ukraine?– There are four military districts in Russia, in which large-scale military exercises are held annually in turn.
Vostok – military maneuvers in the Far Eastern Military District, which were last held in September 2018.
According to Russian statements made at that time, the number of units involved was 297 thousand people, more than a thousand aircraft, 80 naval vessels and 36 thousand tanks. It is also noteworthy that Chinese and Mongolian troops participated for the first time at that time.
This time, in the midst of a special operation that began in February, the exercises will be held from September 1 to September 7. I pay special attention to the following three points.
1) The degree of China's involvementLast time, in 2018, on September 12 and 13, State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe attended the exercises.
He watched them together with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. I remember the footage of the Central Television of China, which captured this event.
Then the PRC stated that the number of personnel of the People's Liberation Army was 3.2 thousand soldiers, more than a thousand pieces of equipment, 24 military helicopters and six fighters.
Compared to the aforementioned Russian forces, the participation of Chinese troops was rather formal. Moreover, only ground forces were involved.
Meanwhile, this time, more troops are likely to participate than last time, and, as stated above by a spokesman for Kefei, joint naval exercises will also be held.
In other words, there is a possibility that Chinese troops will cover the Russian Far East, where the Russian army has thinned due to a special operation.
China may think that if it does Russia a favor in this situation, it will be able to seek help from the Russian military in the event of an emergency in Taiwan. Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, who attended the previous maneuvers, will probably come this time.
The grievances of the Russian-Japanese and Japanese-Chinese wars have not been forgotten
2) Actions on September 3, the Day of Victory over JapanBoth Russia and China declared September 3, 1945 Victory Day over Japan.
On September 3, 2015, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping stood on the podium and hosted a parade in honor of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people in the war against Japan and in the world anti-fascist war. Russian President Putin and other representatives of 31 countries were invited.
This year, September 3 falls during the Vostok-2022 exercises. Perhaps Russia and China deliberately made the schedule so that it included this date.
One Chinese officer once told me the following story: "China and Russia began conducting joint military exercises in 2005 – a year after the demarcation of the borders. The acquaintance of the Chinese and Russian military in mid-August of the same year began when the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Yuri Baluyevsky, invited his Chinese colleague Liang Guangle to the officers' club of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok. Baluyevsky told the Chinese military commander about 22 paintings that decorated the walls of the lobby of the officers' club. They depicted the last days of the Baltic Fleet, which was destroyed in the Battle of the Sea of Japan during the Russian-Japanese War. They are posted to remind of a hundred years of bitterness. Guangle said at the time, "We experienced the same thing during the Sino-Japanese War," and a lively conversation ensued between the parties."
That is, the joint military exercises of Chinese and Russian troops are connected primarily by Japan.
The possibility of Chinese troops approaching the "northern territories"
3) Exercises in the "northern territories"The Russian army has training grounds on the islands of Iturup and Kunashir, which can be used during the Vostok-2022 maneuvers.
If Chinese units appear there, it will be a disaster for Japan.
Personally, I don't think this is the worst-case scenario, partly because September 29 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. But the mere approach of Chinese troops to the waters near the Kuril Islands will make Japan nervous.
One way or another, August, which began with large-scale military exercises of the Chinese Navy in waters near Taiwan, will end with alarming maneuvers called "Vostok-2022".
